Is breach of contract? a breach of duty of good faith?If yes, then accountabilty?

anneinNJ

New Member
Jurisdiction
New Jersey
Hi my Dear Advisor; I work for an international billion dollar company that has always come to a three year contract negotiations stating they don't want to pay us another .10cents an hour. They claim its the money not our performance. Less than 35 employees in school district cafeteria in NJ managed by Aramark Food Services (headquarters in Philly). They seem very unethical. The school district has five buildings/ kitchens and one Aramark director for the past 6 years at this location. This year, more than ever, we are chronically short staff as the dir. claims she's waiting to hire people as soon as they are fingerprinted and approved. We know for a fact she has turned away people we've sent stating there are no positions open- even to one who already works in the district.
She had one woman age 76, one lung and a diabetic work two jobs by herself without a penny more, our contract only addresses a job classification rate. That poor women went two months then collapsed at home and broke her shoulder and fractured a bone in her neck.
I put in for mileage and the director accused me of imaging it in the past, could I prove I once got mileage. She said she didn't know how to pay mileage and she asked if I was upset that I sound angry. She always makes up stuff when I ask a question. Later I told her it was in the contract & payroll will show her how. Others found out they were supposed to be getting mileage, thought she should have done it automatically. We can't adjust our own payroll account. We depend on her duty of good faith. Today a woman told me the director will pay her extra 15 minutes for her mileage the difference is between $2.67 taxable income vs. $7.91business expense not subject to taxes. We are in contract talks which last time lasted 9 months, not time for grievances. Is the director free to deny, orally change and mislead us about the contract? Can we ask Aramark to make good on the contract now that we know we've been duped?
 
If you're involved in a contract dispute you should be working with your shop steward or appropriate union official.
 
Dear army judge and adjuster jack thank you for your responses. I am talking with our union representative who is here to negotiate the contract once a month about the problems I am learning about but she states her job is to negotiate a contract. The shop steward has not address anyone's questions. And when I telephoned the union they said & did make a class action grievance-. It was a while back about being short staff which resulted with one person hired for 2 hours. So, action & the smallest response to appease and followed by the directors' lip service/ run around. How to stop this cycle? In the meanwhile I have the mileage thing raise its head. Then the woman that fell , at first glance it appears she asked for more money and by contract maybe was entitled. Poor thing she tried and expressed to me maybe she'll get a bonus. Now on the one hand grievance Union man said nothing could be done until we had a contract and we started playing phone tag. UGH! The contract negotiator said that was not true. At this point (limbo) I thought I'd ask around the forum. I got the idea that if the contract is silent about an issue then we can negotiate it into this new contract. Is there a clause for stipulating penalties for misrepresenting our contractual rights to prevent this happening again? Like she's "to honor the contract and do her job"?
I believe sometimes I don't know enough to even ask the correct questions. Or the more I learn, the more I learn I need to learn more;) What is appropriate action to ask? Can we ask Aramark to remove and replace the director? She's lost all credibility with us. (I am not mentioning a lot.)
Dear adjusterjack this is an at-will contract. I am a hard worker, disabled and elderly and pooped out after the 4.5 hours. I have a complete and permanent disability I could sit back on. Most of all this is a job no one wants and teenagers are in school during these hours. I had and sold a restaurant and I like working near my children, if you think exploitation of people like me is appropriate and lack protection of the law; that our only recourse is to go elsewhere, I disagree. I will also let you know I am in urban if not a rural area. Super Wal-Mart is coming near us but, for several years now, many businesses and the supermarket buildings sits empty, (houses too). If you would like to tell me where I can work and not have my husband leave his job I'm all ears.
You do Know Aramark gets food from the government ( a lot of Del Monte) and the government pays the difference on free, reduced and even whole paid lunches right? That the food it can't get from government Aramark made a pack decade ago to only buy from Sysco wholesale, (they just went to court with the FDA trying to create nationwide monopoly). When Sysco reduce the quality of the food we still pay whatever price they want. Someone might want to them to go elsewhere.
Aramark's Board is a list of who's who in politics including past presidents. Aramark makes 14.9 billion and only 149 million profit b/c greedy deadwood at top. The new world order marching in. Our debate is not due to labor costs: it's a function of unbridled corporate greed that demands ever-higher earnings for those who do NOT work. "Once upon a time people," politicians too, "understood the health of an economic system is an adequate circulation system. When one part of the body accumulates too much/ or other parts too little, the entire polity sickens."- Sure you've heard all this before, I just want to stand up for the rights I already had in this economic environment and learn the best way to do that for my small community.
I know from personal experience the director can't orally change our contract - it is a legal and binding collective bargaining agreement ( what that means in all its' glory is the depth of my question). I know this b/c she told us her rules and I followed the employee manual and the contract instead and, for that,she tried to write me up for reprimand.
I would be open to any one's thoughts on this matter. Hope to hear some more. Take care.
 
Call or write the president of your local or national union chapter.

I get the feeling that your union isn't interested in any of your concerns.

Your union, much like our local, state, and federal government; simply wants to pimp you for your money!
 
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